Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The End of the United States?

When it comes to the future of the United States, we've all heard various predictions. We've heard from some that a new American renaissance lies ahead under the leadership of The One (Mr. Obama). We've also heard our share of doom and gloom. Now there's this Wall Street Journal article about a Russian academic -- Igor Panarin -- who predicts that the United States will break apart within a couple of years. Civil war and lots of unpleasantness.

Please take a moment to read the linked article, and then think about it a while. It's tempting to do what many others have done and laugh it off, but I think we'd be well advised to at least consider the possibility. We've fought one Civil War already, and it was a very bloody one. Why do we think such a thing is impossible now?

I don't necessarily buy the idea that other countries will gobble up portions of the United States, at least not right away. But it is certainly possible that our nation could collapse from within.

Think about it.

Late addendum: Joseph Farah at WorldNetDaily wrote a column on this today. Worth reading.

5 comments:

Sola,Why are gun sales so increased since the last election? Can folks with a Judeo-Christian worldview live with homosexuals who demand approval from all their neighbors?

For some time now there has been a sense among regular folk in my part of the country that our country needs fixed and the solution cannot be effected politically. And freedom for folks with traditional values is the issue.

So I think this scholar is unnecessarily exact with his time line, but accurate in his assessment of current trends. The choices are three.

1. Continue on the path toward secularization or polytheism. (I'll explain that later.)

We are on a train toward civil war or cessation. And that train can only be stopped by choices 1. or 2.

The trends toward polytheism and secularization are actually two paths to one end and that's why I see them as both compatible and essentially serving the same end. The goal of both is the end of the Judeo-Christian worldview. As long as there is no longer an insistence on biblical ethics in public policy, education, and entertainment, secularists are happy. They aren't as secular as they are anti-Christian. Hence, the puzzling attitude of astheists and the ACLU toward other religions is explained.

This is what I mean: If one prays a Christian prayer in school, secularists complain. If, however, there is a class requiring the kids to role play and do Muslim things or Wiccan things, that's okay.

Ravi Zacharias recently prayed at the National Prayer Breakfast. He was asked to not name the name of Jesus. He complied and prayed a prayer that fits with just about any religion. Like the Romans we are now being required by the tolerance-nazis to be polytheistic at least in our outward actions. You can be a Christian, but don't say Jesus is the only way. And as long as you do that, the secularists will leave you alone.

And so atheists and theological liberals are buds.

A revival of religion will again unify the nation, but Christianity isn't necessarily going to be the religion that does it. That's the point of the polytheism we see today. American Evangelicalism is dead, both spiritually and as a meaningful movement. In its place pratical polytheism has rushed in, allowing religion without distinction. The problem with that is any intellectually amorphous system of thought can't be effectively transferred to the next generation for four reasons.

First, males have no defined role and many rebel in order to exercise masculinity outside of the prescribed bounds or replace that worldview with one that makes a role for males. Either usually leads to masculinity that is exaggerated and grotesque, likely to be violent, sexually outrageous or both. Hence, today we see many young men moving toward Islam, a religion that, if nothing else positive, is very masculine. And who has moved there the most? African American men. And that makes sense because they have been excluded from the main stream of society much more than any other group. (Though that has changed and is still changing.)

Second, the youth can't find inspiration and motivation in a belief system that has no sharp edges.

Third, it's actually very hard to pass on a body of knowledge without cognitive handles. And this may be of as much importance as the other three. That is to say a belief system whose ideas have been dulled in order to be as unoffensive as possible is actually hard to communicate. And anything that is hard to communicate because it is extremely conceptual is hard to remember. The transfer from person to person is difficult even if the motivation is high.

Fourth, those who may consider entering such a worldview will lack motivation for the simple reason that a worldview which has been designed or modified in order to be acceptable to others currently outside it usually says much of what those others really believe. If nothing I say is new or different to my hearers, why will they listen?

The simple answer is they won't.

The article is right for now. However, the problem with extrapolation is it assumes that all existing conditions will continue essentially unchanged until the end state is achieved.

I think Phil really knows his stuff. I read his comments with great interest. Phil, if you see this, you are on track brother.

Two. Joel, I've always believed that we will fall from within. It's a debate about whether we should be across the pond fighting the war. I do feel strongly, that there are cancer cells in the US already, hiding but growing. They will attack smaller towns too as to confuse everyone and let them know no one is safe. Rome fell from within even with their mighty armies that subdued other kingdoms.

The new administration will definitely have a one world myopic view of things. I can't back this next statement up but it's just a thought. When the anti-christ wants to form this one world alliance, who better to have on his side than an administration here in the US that loves the idea of it all?

While I certainly agree that people in the U.S. are in a terrible moral state, it's clear Prof. Panarin has not spent any meaningful time in the U.S. or he wouldn't make the claims he does, specifically to Canadian or Mexican control of 1/2 the country. He obviously has never spent any time with a Texan.Additionally, comparing the U.S. with historical imperialistic empires that have fallen is simply not understanding the difference between those states and our own.Finally, I do ponder if our current moral condition is any different than any another time from God's point of view. We're all depraved. Is there a continuum of depravity? I don't think so. We either are sinners or are not sinners. There's no in between. So, maybe from God's perspective, mankind is no worse than it has ever been since the fall. So, to say that the U.S. has declined in morality is akin to saying that a room totally devoid of light is getting darker.To be candid, I am no longer a citizen of this earth, but a citizen of the eternal Kingdom. My identity is in Christ, not in being an American. I need to be less concerned with the state of our nation than I should be about the eternal state of the person next to me.Do I believe the U.S. will break apart in the next 10 years? No, not even close. Do I believe the people of the U.S. need to rethink their relationship with the Creator? Absolutely. And, according to Acts 1:8 and Matt. 28:18-20, it's my job to help everyone I meet realize that.

Joel Griffith

I have been involved in media since 1978, primarily radio. Full time Christian ministry since 1988, including radio, apologetics, written publications, preaching and teaching. Why do I go by Solameanie online? Long story.
Follow me on Twitter. @solameanie

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